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...given that tickets will go on sale (and probably sell out) months in advance, the most active players may not know what PCs will be what level when they're buying tickets. So it could cause some minor issues in that regard, with people having tickets that don't match their PC levels by the time the convention happens.
That is certainly a possibility but not one HQ can be concerned with. We cannot manange individual play. Players will have to be responsible for their own characters and leveling. At the event, you will have a reserved seat for the level of your ticket. If you no longer want to play that tier or have an appropriate character, we can treat you ticket as a generic and you can wait in the generic ticket holder line. We will take those players first come-first serve for the table levels we have available. It is extremely unlikely that GMs will be retasked for sub-tiers they did not prepare. Although there might be a chance for a few "swing" tables which the GM has prepped an additional sub-tier for flexibility, players should not expect that opportunity. The best bet is always to buy a real ticket for the appropriate sub-tier to both guarantee your seat and to minimize any inconvenience you may have to endure during mustering.
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So the 'unofficial and not sanctioned' best bet if one doesn't have the 'right' ticket for a special is to make a sign and hold it up in the hallway before the event, along with what they are seeking for said ticket?
*can't imagine folks would be able to handle those sorts of electronic transactions in the middle of GenCon, based on personal experience from last year's GenCon trying to get into a 'dedicated' Core/Standard group?
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No, the official answer is that if you arrive at the event with a ticket for a sub-tier that you no longer can or want to play, then you will not "fit" the intended, general process and will need more individual attention. We may need to shift you to the generic ticket area where we have the resources to manage your particular needs. We will do everything in our power to seat every player with a real ticket, just as we do in every slot of the convention, special event or otherwise.
The point of this change to shift away from having GMs run sub-tier they are not prepared for and therefore providing a poor performance for the players. The intention is that everyone will buy a ticket for the sub-tier they want to play and we will have a GM waiting to run it for you. It is a win-win-win for the players, GMs, and marshals.
I think the HQ/marshal team has an excellent track record for doing everything in our power to seat every player possible and we do not expect this year to be any different. We continue to take feedback on the process and tweak adjustments to improve the process.
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As I said, I think the change is much better than what we had in the past, but I'm pointing out an issue that I'm sure will come up with it. I think a better method is probably possible, and I have ideas in mind, but I'll probably wait until after this year's GenCon, since I'm assuming it's too late for this year.
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For folks who want to make sure they play the special, but aren't sure what character they will play, or if they will have a character in the correct tier, they should probably aim for a ticket in one of the tier's with pregens (1-2, 3-4, or 7-8) that way in the event of character death, or not having an appropriately levelled character they can still play. It may not be the ideal experience, but at least you will have an assured seat.
To Bob, at our local cons we've had some decent success assigning GMs who are GMing the odd tiers (5-6 and 9-11) to cross prepare with tiers that have pregens, but we are talking on such a small scale where one table can make the difference between legal and not, so possibly not relevant in this context/scale.
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Keep in mind that you can also play one subtier away from your in-tier subtier. This means that a 5-6 table can seat a level 4 or level 7 pregen as long as APL is 5-6.
I fully support this ticketing process, as well, as it means that GMs are going to be able to better prepared.
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Keep in mind that you can also play one subtier away from your in-tier subtier. This means that a 5-6 table can seat a level 4 or level 7 pregen as long as APL is 5-6.
I fully support this ticketing process, as well, as it means that GMs are going to be able to better prepared.
This is an important thing to remember when trying to put together your group in the hallway! The only thing I suggest with this is that you tell the other people who you will be grouping with the level of your character, just in case it would force the group as a whole up or down a subtier.
Just checking to see if any of the volunteer acceptance emails have been sent yet?
Need to make sure that if I'm not selected, I will have time to make other plans.
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What I'm curious about is this:
On the Roleplaying Guild (RPG) side, we're offering scenarios covering the second half of Season 7 and the first few of Season 8, as well as bringing back a few favorites. We have several special events planned, including an all-new interactive on Friday evening! In addition, a new series of quests will debut, and there are a few other things up our sleeve to be announced in February.
I'm looking forward to some more information on all the cool things that'll be going on at Gen Con!
Any updates on the time frame we'll be notified for volunteering?
Should I not expect anything until after May's PaizoCon?
Just checking again because the company I normally volunteer at GenCon for is already taking submissions and I really wanted to help here this year.
Thanks
Maybe send an Email to the volunteer address expressing your concern?
Done!
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Tonya has completed the email notifications for those accepted as volunteers. I am now in the process of assigning GM schedules. With 1800 tables to assign and upwards of 300 volunteers, it will take a little time. I am hopeful to have it complete and all GMs notified of their schedule prior to open registration on the 15th.
I haven't GMed PFS at Gencon, do we just get assigned scenarios and slots? Do they try to check that we haven't run the module for credit before?
No, I/we do not look at your GMing history for that purpose. Some GMs prefer to run scenarios they have in the past because they are more knowledgeable about the details and can provide a better player experience. Others prefer to GM new scenarios so they can use the GM credit. Due to the size and complexity of GenCon, it is not a detail we are currently prepared to incorporate into the process.
All our local cons use Warhorn for GM signups, so I'm not completely sure what to expect. I'm (hopefully) only signed up to run one slot, so it's probably not a big deal either way.)
Once the GM assignments are complete, we will send emails to all the volunteers so they know which scenarios to prepare and in what slots. Warhorn is a great tool and I encourage organizers to use it, but it lacks some functionality that would allow us to use it for GenCon.
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Tonya has completed the email notifications for those accepted as volunteers. I am now in the process of assigning GM schedules. With 1800 tables to assign and upwards of 300 volunteers, it will take a little time. I am hopeful to have it complete and all GMs notified of their schedule prior to open registration on the 15th.
So everyone who was accepted as a volunteer should have gotten an email recently? I got an email from Tonya back in January when I first signed up, but I haven't gotten an email since. Does that mean I wasn't accepted as a volunteer?
I only signed up to run a small number of slots, so it wouldn't surprise me too much, if you had more volunteers than you need. I just want to know for sure.
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If you already received an email in January prior to the hotel lottery, then you would not have received another email in the last week or so. You were already confirmed as a volunteer.
If you applied to be a volunteer and did not receive an email either back in January or the past week or so, you were not approved as a volunteer. That being said, I know of two people who were in fact approved and are listed in my roster who claim they did not receive an email. I suppose it is possible that with roughly 300 emails having to be send, someone may have been missed, or perhaps the email dropped into a spam folder. Regardless, if you did not receive a response to your application, please contact Tonya for clarification.
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Thanks for the clarification, Bob.
Now I just need to figure out what I'm doing for a hotel (still). I couldn't get anywhere near the convention center during the initial hotel lottery, and I heard there were certain days when people would cancel reservations they didn't need, so I should wait and try again on those days. I've checked in occasionally since then, with no luck. Unfortunately, the friends I normally go with aren't going this year, and they usually deal with the hotel stuff, so this is my first time having to figure it out myself.
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It is possible, but any changes to your tier level/status must go through Tonya for approval. I would encourage you to send her an email ASAP. Changes to the GM assignments after the assignment process is complete often means some of the safeguards and processes we use to give a GM the best possible schedule cannot be utilized effectively
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Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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Was there a possible way if we already received a email back in January for volunteering, that we could volunteer for a highee tier?
In her most recent blog post, Tonya had a comment about your exact question.
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If you are GMing at GenCon and would like to be considered for the new Seeker tables, please send me an email. Due to the complexity of the scenario and the rigid time window we have available, it is highly recommended that you run the scenario/s at least once before the convention to get a feel for the flow and become better acquainted with the material. When submitting your email, please let me know if you are planning on running the scenarios prior to GenCon. Thx
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Was there a possible way if we already received a email back in January for volunteering, that we could volunteer for a highee tier?In her most recent blog post, Tonya had a comment about your exact question.
Blog Post
Thank you, I went ahead and emailed her my updated availability. I may need spend my time wisely while not gming at GenCon.
For those in Tier 4 and up, will our badges be credited to our Gencon accounts before the 15th in addition to the schedules being emailed out? I believe that's what the confirmation email, but I could be mistaken.
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If you are GMing at GenCon and would like to be considered for the new Seeker tables, please send me an email. Due to the complexity of the scenario and the rigid time window we have available, it is highly recommended that you run the scenario/s at least once before the convention to get a feel for the flow and become better acquainted with the material.
Bob is the new arc part of the schedule for GenCon?
Thanks
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If you are GMing at GenCon and would like to be considered for the new Seeker tables, please send me an email. Due to the complexity of the scenario and the rigid time window we have available, it is highly recommended that you run the scenario/s at least once before the convention to get a feel for the flow and become better acquainted with the material.Bob is the new arc part of the schedule for GenCon?
Thanks
I cant think of a reason he would be asking for people who are interested in GMing them at Gencon if they weren't going to be offered at Gencon...
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I cant think of a reason he would be asking for people who are interested in GMing them at Gencon if they weren't going to be offered at Gencon...If you are GMing at GenCon and would like to be considered for the new Seeker tables, please send me an email. Due to the complexity of the scenario and the rigid time window we have available, it is highly recommended that you run the scenario/s at least once before the convention to get a feel for the flow and become better acquainted with the material.Bob is the new arc part of the schedule for GenCon?
Thanks
I thought the same thing until I re-read Bob's wording. It's ambiguous enough that he might be referring to seeker level tables of the specials, rather than the seeker level scenarios we already know about.
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I cant think of a reason he would be asking for people who are interested in GMing them at Gencon if they weren't going to be offered at Gencon...If you are GMing at GenCon and would like to be considered for the new Seeker tables, please send me an email. Due to the complexity of the scenario and the rigid time window we have available, it is highly recommended that you run the scenario/s at least once before the convention to get a feel for the flow and become better acquainted with the material.Bob is the new arc part of the schedule for GenCon?
Thanks
I thought the same thing until I re-read Bob's wording. It's ambiguous enough that he might be referring to seeker level tables of the specials, rather than the seeker level scenarios we already know about.
I could see that, but they seemed pretty sincere with the 'never going to do 12+ again in Specials'. I doubt that has changed.
Aside from that:
1. I doubt Bahb would let slip like that, since that isn't public info, if the Specials are in fact going to o above level 11.
2. Ever if it was going to, the only chance of having anyone running it prior to Gencon would be for PaizoCon, and it would make much more sense to ask those GMs specifically, instead of making an open announcement on the message boards.
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Yes, I was referring to the new Seeker arc (All for Immortality). Due to the challenges a GM faces running an event like this, I would rather not select seemingly random GMs to run them. I would much rather assign a GM who wants to run them and will invest the effort needed to provide a good table experience for a very high level table.
Of course, if we do not receive enough volunteer, volunteers, :-P we will have to assign them to GMs per our normal process.
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At this time, we are in need of more GMs for GenCon. If you already volunteered and would like to add more slots to your schedule, please email me directly and I can upgrade your status. If you are not a current volunteer, but would like to join the fun, please head over the Gen Con 2016 Call for Volunteers and follow the instructions. There is an online form to complete.
We do have a few more hotel spots available if you upgrade to a tier 1/2.
Any GM willing to take on more slots than what they originally volunteered for is much appreciated. Our intention was not to schedule GMs for more than 8 slots, but if you really want to run the entire show, please let me know.
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The hotels that tier 1/2 GM's stay at are adjacent to the convention center, at least they have been in years past, and is almost certainly the same this year.
True, but the convention center is huge and always crowded. I'm assuming we'll be in the Sagamore Ballroom again, so depending on exactly which hotel they're using, it could still be a 10-15 minute walk.
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The hotels that tier 1/2 GM's stay at are adjacent to the convention center, at least they have been in years past, and is almost certainly the same this year.True, but the convention center is huge and always crowded. I'm assuming we'll be in the Sagamore Ballroom again, so depending on exactly which hotel they're using, it could still be a 10-15 minute walk.
We are at the Westin this year, which is the hotel that is connected by the bridge outside the Sagamore.
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We are at the Westin this year, which is the hotel that is connected by the bridge outside the Sagamore.
Awesome Thank you kindly sir!
I think there are only 10 session slots scheduled correct? I am currently signed up for 8....what's 2 more? :O
Yes 10.
Even if it isn't the Westin, but the Marriot Downtown (like the last several years), its maybe a 5 minute walk from the Sagamore to the hotel, even with crowds.